South Park: Margaritaville

by Mr. Cheap

Sorry to our readers who got a VERY early edition of this post in their RSS feed. Mr. Cheap accidentally hit “Publish” when he meant to hit “Save”.

“Margaritaville” (originally airing March 25, 2009) was the 3rd episode of the 13th season of South Park and it provided an amusing perspective on the current financial crisis. After various prophets each try to explain the reason for the current crisis (one blames low interest rates, another blames corporate greedy, while Cartman, of course, blames “the jews”), Randy (Stan’s dad) wins approval by explaining that the citizens of South Park have angered “the economy” by mocking it (and it has, in turn, cast its vengeance upon them all). Channeling Mr. Cheap, he advises:

Yea, it is an angry and unforgiving Economy. To repent we must stop frivolous spending! Instead of paying for cable let us watch clouds! Instead of buying clothes, wear but sheets from thine beds! Cut spending to only the bare essentials! Water and bread and margaritas, yea.

Meanwhile Stan decides to try to return his father’s margarita maker, which stands as a proxy for mortgages-backed securities, and traces it through the retailer, lender, stock broker, and ultimately to the U.S. Treasury Department in Washington (where he discovers how political decisions are REALLY made).

You can watch the episode on-line (legally) at www.southparkstudios.com/clips/222639 (in the US) or watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/south-park/season-13/south-park-1303-margaritaville/ (in Canada). Viewers outside the US and Canada may try to watch it here, and if you’d rather read it then watch it, check out the script. WARNING: South Park’s humour can be fairly edgey (Mr. Hankey makes me feel a little nauseous whenever he’s on the screen), and it might not be to everyone’s taste.